PORTLAND, Ore. – The top three teams in the 2024 Great Northwest Athletic Conference women’s soccer preseason coaches poll were separated by just eight points, with 2022 NCAA Division II national champion Western Washington topping the list.
 
The Vikings, two years removed from hoisting their second NCAA title under head coach Travis Connell, collected three first-place votes and a total of 59 points to emerge as the preseason favorites. Reigning GNAC champion Seattle Pacific was close behind with 55 points, and also garnered three first-place votes. Fresh off a memorable run to its first-ever NCAA regional championship tournament, Simon Fraser claimed the other two first-place votes and totaled 51 points for third place in the preseason poll.
 

Rank	Team (1st Place Votes)	Points	2023 Record	GNAC Record (Finish)	2024 Schedule	2024 Roster
1	Western Washington (3)	59	12-5-4	9-2-3 (2nd)	WWU Schedule	WWU Roster
2	Seattle Pacific (3)	55	13-4-5	9-0-5 (1st)	SPU Schedule	SPU Roster
3	Simon Fraser (2)	51	7-6-6	5-5-4 (4th)	SFU Schedule	SFU Roster
4	Western Oregon	37	8-5-6	5-4-5 (3rd)	WOU Schedule	WOU Roster
5	Northwest Nazarene	30	4-7-7	4-5-5 (5th)	NNU Schedule	NNU Roster
6	Central Washington	22	3-12-4	2-8-4 (7th)	CWU Schedule	CWU Roster
7	Montana State Billings	19	4-10-3	4-8-2 (6th)	MSUB Schedule	MSUB Roster
8	Saint Martin's	15	2-9-7	1-7-6 (8th)	SMU Schedule	SMU Roster
Points awarded on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis

 

The Vikings went 13-4-4 overall last season and went 9-2-3 in conference play (30 points), before advancing to the GNAC Championships title game. WWU returns a wide array of talent from its successful 2023 roster, including first-team all-conference selections Morgan Manalili and Asia Hardin. Manalili ranked second in the GNAC last fall with 15 points, including six goals and three assists to lead the Viking attack. Hardin meanwhile was a rock on the WWU back line, starting all 21 matches and logging a team-high 1,875 minutes on the pitch.
 
Senior defender Halle Noel is the Vikings’ other returning all-conference selection, after tying for the team lead with three assists last season. WWU returns the likes of junior center midfielder Claire Potter and the sophomore trio of defender Olivia Connell, midfielder Mie Cairns and forward Jane Hmura who all saw time as starters last fall. The biggest loss for WWU was 2023 GNAC Defensive Player of the Year Claire Henninger between the posts, as the Vikings will need to replace a goalkeeper who owned the ninth-best career goals against average in GNAC history (0.59). Connell begins his 22nd season in charge of the Viking program, and has twice been named the national coach of the year after delivering national titles in 2016 and 2022.
 
 
The Falcons claimed their GNAC-leading 10th regular-season title last fall, going 13-4-5 overall and unbeaten in conference play with a 9-0-5 record (32 points). After bowing

out of the conference tournament in their opening game, the Falcons went on to a regional win over Cal State LA and a loss to eventual NCAA national champion Point Loma in the second round. Arby Busey enters his 10th season leading the SPU program, having delivered three GNAC trophies thus far in the 2021 regular season and tournament titles and last year’s regular season crown.
 
Headlining the list of returners for SPU are 2023 first-team all-conference midfielder Lauren Snedeker and 2023 GNAC co-Newcomer of the Year Taylor Krueger. Snedeker, a midfielder, started all 22 matches for the Falcons and contributed a pair of goals and assists last fall. Krueger made an immediate impact after transferring from Saint Louis University, ranking second on the team and fifth in the GNAC with four goals and five assists for 13 total points.
 
SPU’s last line of defense also returns, as junior goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen earned second-team all-conference in 2023 after ranking second in the GNAC with 4.29 saves per game and racking up six shutouts. Senior defender Kathryn Nyone is another all-conference returner, earning honorable mention in 2023 after starting 21 of 22 matches and ranking third on the team with 1,505 minutes played. SPU’s biggest losses are 2023 GNAC Player of the Year Sophie Beadle and 2023 first-team forward Jacqueline Blakeley who led the GNAC with eight goals. SPU was the lone GNAC team to appear in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, checking in at No. 14.
   

Becoming just the third team to win the GNAC Championships title since the event was founded in 2012, Simon Fraser put a magical finish on Carlo Basso’s first season leading his alma mater. The Red Leafs stunned SPU and WWU in consecutive games in Ellensburg, Wash., hoisting their first-ever GNAC trophy and earning a spot in the regional championship. SFU came inches away from an NCAA victory, falling in penalty kicks at the hands of Cal State LA. The Red Leafs went 7-6-6 overall and 5-5-4 in league play (19 points) to finish fourth last season.
 
Hope for the Red Leafs to repeat the feat in 2024 lies in the fact that all seven of their all-conference selections from last year’s roster are back. First-teamer Isabella Muzzolini started 18 of 19 matches and GNAC co-Newcomer of the Year Mikayla Tupper scored five goals to rank second on the squad. Captain Kate Cartier, an honorable mention all-league pick last fall, led the team and tied for second in the conference with six goals while fellow all-GNAC midfielder Alyssa Clark started all 19 matches and had a team-high five assists.
 
The SFU defensive line features a trio of returning second-team all-GNAC picks in senior outside back Katie Richardson, senior center back Emily Smith and junior goalkeeper Sarah Loewen. Richardson logged 1,343 minutes in 18 starts while Smith racked up 1,450 minutes across 16 starts. Loewen led the GNAC with 88 saves (4.63 per game), ranked second with a save percentage of .838 and third with eight shutouts. GNAC Championships MVP Raegan Mackenzie, whose lone goal last year was the championship-winner in the 81st minute of the title game, also returns for her junior campaign.
 
 
On the heels of its first GNAC Championships berth since 2019, the Western Oregon Wolves will look to build off last year’s third-place finish going 8-5-6 overall and 5-4-5 in league play (20

points). Behind the leadership of sixth-year head coach Kacey Bingham, WOU was slated fourth in the preseason coaches poll totaling 37 points.
 
Senior midfielder Lulu Sadler is one of the conference’s top returning talents, after garnering first-team all-GNAC recognition in 2023. The Camas, Wash., native was 1 of 4 Wolves to start all 19 matches, racking up 1,646 minutes patrolling the pitch last fall. Sophia Pierce, who started 16 matches in goal and ranked second in the GNAC with a goals-against average of 0.69, figures to be a fixture once again as the team’s shot stopper.
 
Offensively, the Wolves’ top returner is Lilly Nowatzke after she ranked third on the team with seven points on three goals and an assist in 2023. Senior midfielder/forward Gabby Warta, who scored a pair of goals last year, is also back on the roster. Briana Kubli is back for her junior year, after starting all 18 matches and scoring three goals in 2022 and missing the 2023 campaign. There will be an opportunity for minutes on the WOU back line this fall, as first-team all-GNAC center back Hannah Rispler (19 starts/1,710 minutes), and second-teamers Jenna Efraimson (19 starts/1,655 minutes) and Elizabeth Parker (19 starts/1,597 minutes) were all seniors in 2023. WOU also bid farewell to fifth-year senior Chloe Smith, who scored 12 goals in her collegiate career.
 
Checking in fifth in the preseason coaches poll was Northwest Nazarene, which collected 30 points. The Nighthawks narrowly missed out on the GNAC Championships last fall, going 4-7-7 overall and 4-5-5 in conference play (17 points) to place fifth. Mary (Trigg) Ybarguen begins her 11th season in charge of the program, as the Nighthawks will look for their third tournament berth in four seasons after making it to the championships in 2021 and 2022.
 
Reigning GNAC Freshman of the Year Nicole Lewis, who led the team with six assists while adding three goals in her debut campaign, is back on the roster after starting 17 of 18 matches last fall. Alejandra Jaramillo has proved a consistent offensive presence throughout her career, delivering six goals (two in 2023) and four assists as she gears up for her fifth collegiate season.
 
NNU’s other all-conference returner is senior goalkeeper Bailey Blancett, who ranked third in the conference in goals-against average (0.78) and saves (62), and fourth in save percentage (.816). Senior defender Kate Bleffert has been a rock for the Nighthawks, starting all 18 matches last year and leading the team with 1,561 minutes played. Junior midfielder Savanna Herz is another returner who figures to contribute, after ranking second on the team with four assists while playing in all 18 matches last fall. The Nighthawks’ key losses include leading scorer Madison Grande (five goals, three assists) and senior center back Makayla Roggow who started 17 matches and contributed a pair of goals from the back line.
 
Beginning her third season leading the Central Washington women’s soccer program is head coach Lindsey Lee, whose team went 3-12-4 overall and placed seventh in the GNAC standings with a conference record of 2-8-4 (10 points). The Wildcats garnered 22 points in the preseason coaches poll and are expected to be a contender for a GNAC Championships berth.
 
The Wildcats return five of their top six point getters from 2023, including honorable mention all-conference selections Casey Park and Sami Huber. Park started all 19 matches last fall, leading the Wildcats with four goals during her sophomore campaign. Huber was a standout freshman, earning 10 starts and netting a pair of goals in her first season on the pitch. Senior Emily Darcy is back after leading the team with eight points, while seniors Paige Savage (two goals, one assist) and Lily Newberry (one goal, two assists) will be key veterans that CWU leans on offensively.
 
Fifth-year defender Maggie McBroom started 14 matches and played upwards of 1,000 minutes in 2023 and is the unit’s top returner on the back line. Danika Galbraith (seven starts/35 saves/2.24 GAA) and Kass Jaggard (five starts/30 saves/1.12 GAA) are the Wildcats’ two returning goalkeepers with experience. CWU last advanced to the GNAC Championships in 2019 and will be in search of its fifth overall tournament appearance since the event was founded in 2012.
 

Abiye Jack kicks off his second full season as head coach of an ambitious Montana State Billings team that has hopes of breaking a GNAC Championships drought as well. The Yellowjackets, who last appeared in the tournament in 2015, were slated seventh in the preseason poll with a total of 19 points. MSUB was in the race until the final weekend of the season in 2023, settling for an overall record of 4-10-3 and going 4-8-2 in league play (14 points) to place sixth.
 
Liberty Palmer owns the most decorated resume among the Yellowjacket returners, earning second-team all-GNAC last season after claiming the 2021 GNAC Freshman of the Year accolade. Palmer overcame a pair of devastating injuries to put together a solid comeback season in 2023, scoring three goals in just eight games to push her career goals tally to eight ahead of this season. Senior midfielders Kendall McGraw and Taylor Gertsch are also back for MSUB, after the former chipped in a team-high three goals and the latter logged upwards of 1,000 minutes as a holding midfielder last season.
 
Fifth-year veterans Jillian Hust and Jackie Sharpe should give the team an offensive boost, while 2023 newcomer Erika Wilson is back after starting all 17 matches and leading the team with 1,471 minutes played last season. In goal the ‘Jackets will have to replace 2023 seniors Clare Keenan and Tuva Sallvin, who started 45 matches and 17 matches, respectively over the last four years. Early hope has emerged in the form of freshman Claire Brogdon, who made 15 saves in MSUB’s recent exhibition match against NCAA Division I Montana.
 
Rounding out the preseason coaches poll was Saint Martin’s, which picked up 15 points and was slated to finish eighth. Derek Faulkner begins his second season heading the Saints, who went 2-9-7 overall and 1-7-6 in GNAC play (9 points) to place eighth last season. SMU will be on the hunt for its first-ever GNAC Championships berth.
 
Seniors Inara Lopes De Andrade and Alia Khoyi are each back on the SMU roster after getting on the score sheet during the 2023 season. Junior defender Rose Ivanis is back after starting all 18 matches and leading the team with 1,574 minutes played last fall. In goal, Flavia Burrell is the returner with experience after earning eight starts, making 38 saves and posting a goals-against average of 1.14 in 2023. Senior Payton Aselton is the team's lone returning all-conference selection from 2023, after starting all 18 matches and playing 1,564 minutes in the midfield.
 
The first official games of the 2024 women’s soccer season are set for Sept. 5, as GNAC teams compete in exhibition matches and scrimmages over the next week. After three weeks of non-conference action, the 2024 GNAC schedule kicks off on Sept. 26 as the 14-game race to the conference tournament unfolds. The top-four teams in the final GNAC regular-season standings earn berths into the GNAC Championships, which are scheduled for Nov. 14-16 at Seattle Pacific’s Interbay Stadium. The winner of the conference tournament earns the GNAC’s automatic berth into the NCAA West Region Championships, which commence the week of Nov. 18 at the sites of the top regional seeds.